Waters

Lough Melvin

Not curated yet

Co. Leitrim (IE) / Fermanagh (NI) — cross-border · Lough · wild · 2.1k ha

This week

Draft outlook

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Tmrw

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Sun

Forecast-based, not a promise — and always check season dates with the fishery (link below).

Depth character (estimated)

Mixed depths · to ~45 m

Water clarity (estimated)

Clear

Exposure (estimated)

Moderate

Species

Brown trout →Gillaroo →Sonaghan →Ferox →Arctic char →Atlantic salmon →

Getting there

Bank access: LimitedThere are several public jetties, but the lake's species mix and the open-water sonaghan game make Melvin predominantly a boat fishery. Rossinver Bay's controlled fly-only water gives the clearest shore-associated tactical focus.

Boats available

Kinlough Pier · Pier
Garrison slipway · Slipway

13 more unverified piers, slipways and car parks on the map (OpenStreetMap).

Features

Drop offsShoalsBaysIslandsRocky shorelinePointsRiver mouths

Weed: LightMelvin is an oligo-mesotrophic, peat-stained lake and not a classic heavy-weed fishery. Structure and depth gradients matter more than weed, though shallower bay and island margins are important.

Coarse fry present (Perch, Brown trout)

Local notes

Rossinver Bay and the Garrison/Breffni side are the main repeat-access fly-fishing centres; Rossinver Fishery explicitly maintains a fly-only section in Rossinver Bay. Melvin is not one uniform trout lake: ordinary browns are more bay-oriented, sonaghan are deep/open-water roamers, and gillaroo track benthic feeding zones. Best-attested condition pattern is that bright high sun makes sonaghan harder by pushing their food deeper over open water, while a breeze improving the drift helps both bay fishing and open-water wet-fly work.

Fishery rules & regulations Fish here now